Chapter 3- Confrontation
by Shiika777
Summary: Ty finds out how Sly wound up working for Cass. Also a fight scene in this chapter, too. Feedback is greatly appreciated; thanks in advance. Jesus loves you 3


The brothers held their gazes for what seemed like forever to Sly. His heart was pounding; his body was numb and paralyzed. He was staring into the eyes of the tiger he tried to kill a few days ago; he didn't know what to say.

After a few minutes, Sly's body relaxed a little. He inhaled, then exhaled deeply.

"Yea..." he said, averting and closing his eyes. "It was me…"

"What are you doing here?" said Ty with a bit more confusion on his face.

"…I jumped out of the robot before it exploded…"

Ty nodded slightly and looked away, thinking of what to say next.

Ty looked back at Sly, who was still looking away from him. He noticed Sly's facial expression; it looked as if shame and regret were eating him alive. Ty softened a bit after he saw that.

"So why'd you do it?" Ty asked quietly.

Sly reacted as if he had been shot; he fought back tears again. "….I don't know…" he sighed.

"You don't know why you helped me?"

Sly suddenly opened his eyes; he was confused. "What?" he asked looking back at Ty.

Now Ty looked confused. "…You helped me…why'd you do it?"

Sly understood now. He thought Ty was asking why he tried to kill him. He exhaled and looked down before responding, "It was the right thing to do I guess."

Ty was slightly taken aback by Sly's response. Sly looked up briefly and noticed Ty's facial expression; he laughed a little, spitefully, and turned his head away again.

"Heh…yea…like I can talk about doing the right thing…" He shook his head, then stopped, confused. "Why are you still here anyway?"

"I wanted some answers," Ty said.

Sly nodded. "And you think I can give them to you?"

"…I want _your_ answers. You're the only one who can give them to me."

"_My_ answers?" Sly was confused again. "Why _my_ answers?"

"Because I want _your_ side of all this…..I just wanna know why you did what you did, and how you could even do them."

The gnawing guilt and shame returned when Ty said that. Sly sighed and hung his head. He shrugged. "…Alright…" he said quietly after a few minutes. "Whaddya you wanna know?" he asked as he raised his head, making eye contact with Ty again.

Ty sighed and looked away for a bit to think of what he wanted to ask first. He looked back at Sly when he thought of it. "Why'd you help Boss Cass?"

Sly looked away again, this time thoughtfully. He shook his head a little. "I don't know anymore."

"_Anymore_?"

"…Yea."

"What did you think you knew before?"

Sly sighed again. "…I thought my family had abandoned me."

Ty was shocked. "Why did you think _that_?"

"That's what I was told…by Cass…I guess he knew a seven year old would believe almost anything."

"Why did Cass tell you that?"

"Because he knew he could use me. He wanted to banish all mammals to the Dreaming. What better way to figure out how to fight mammals than with a mammal's knowledge?"

"So you willingly helped him do all that?"

"Yes…that was before I knew the whole story."

"What do you mean?"

Sly sighed and paused for a minute before answering. "He told me that mammals were cruel and oppressive. He told me that they abused their privilege of being at the top of the food chain. He told me they even occasionally abandoned their young if they believed they weren't strong enough. He told me _that's_ why he wanted them gone, so their tyranny could end. He needed my help to do that; that's why he kept me around."

Now things seemed clearer to Ty. Now he understood why he did what he did.

"So he lied to you…"

"For twelve years…" growled Sly; anger boiled up inside him as he said that. He clenched his fist and turned away from Ty. Ty straightened up a little more, and he began to have pity on his brother. "_Well now I know why he helped Cass_," he thought. "_But, why'd he try to kill me_?"

"…So…why did you…try to…kill me?"

Sly went numb again. He paused for a moment, thinking of everything he wanted to say.

He sighed, "…Cass heard that you were trying to stop him, so he sent some of his henchmen to kill you. When that failed…I stepped up…and volunteered…"

Ty froze with horror; he was speechless.

Sly continued. "I believed what Cass had told me- and kept telling me- about mammals all those years. I came to hate mammals myself. I was glad to help him. I felt like they were getting what they deserved. When I heard that a Tasmanian Tiger was trying to stop him, I gladly accepted the challenge…But I didn't know _you_ were the one trying to stop him." Sly looked at Ty as he said that. Now Ty was confused again. Sly continued. "I knew I had a little brother…somewhere. I heard his voice every night before I went to sleep for the first few years. It was the sound of the only mammal who hadn't abandoned me- but, ironically, I abandoned him." He shook his head again. "I kept telling myself that one day I'd go back for him. One day when I was stronger and could protect both of us. I never told Cass about him…about you. I was afraid he'd want you gone, too. Plus, I didn't know where you were. I got lost after I left in that night…the night I left."

Ty remembered that night like it was yesterday, and all the events leading up to it. Their parents were about to fight Cass; they had heard where he was from some distant relatives, who had agreed to help fight him. Sly and Ty were too young to fight, and it was too risky for them to go with them. So they were left with a bilby family. (Betty had gotten lost in the forest once, and they found her and took her in until her parents came looking for her. That's how the two families got acquainted.) Sly couldn't figure out why he and his little brother were being left behind with bilbies. No one would tell him where they were going. They kept saying that they had to go take care of something to help keep them safe.

Ty wasn't horrified anymore, but he was confused now more than ever. "So why did you still try to kill me when you saw me? Didn't you remember me?"

"No. That's the problem. I heard your voice every night for years, and then every so often after that. But I heard the voice of a three-year-old. I had forgotten what you looked like after so many years. I didn't have a picture of you or anything…your eyes looked so familiar when I saw you… but I didn't pay it any attention. I was focused on the job I had."

Now Ty understood everything…well, almost everything.

"…..So why did you help me out in the end?"

"I found out the truth…about everything. Cass, my family, you- I found out the whole story."

"How?"

"Those boomerangs I tossed you are called Doomerangs. Cass had them locked away in his robot. Apparently Dad had used them to knock the Talismans out of their place right when he and the rest of our family were being sucked into the Dreaming. Cass kept them as a reminder to finish what he had started. After you beat me in that fight, he took me to where he had those boomerangs, to remind me that failure wasn't an option…"

*flashback*

Cass led him to the glass cylinder that housed the Doomerangs. He stopped and turned around, looking Sly dead in the eyes.

"Sly, what are these?" he said without moving an inch.

Sly annoyingly gave a sideways glance before looking back at Cass. "Doomerangs."

"And why do I keep these here?"

Sly looked away, angry and annoyed.

"Look at me when I'm speaking, Sly."

Sly looked back at Cass, anger engraved on his face.

"Well?"

He sighed. "To remind you…us…about why the mammals have to go."

"Exactly! Mammals are the reason the world is in chaos today! Mammals are the reason that those of us lower on the food chain struggle to survive! That's why they must go. And when I'm this close to finally ridding this mudball of those creatures, I do not accept failure! Got it?!"

"Yea…"

"Good. Now I have some final preparations to make before we go to Rainbow Cliffs. Make yourself useful and go wait outside the loading dock. That rat will have to come here eventually. If you see him, run back in here and sound the alarm; we'll move out after that."

Sly gave a nod.

"And don't fail me this time."

Cass walked out after that.

Sly gave one last look at the rangs, then went outside to wait for Ty.

*after the battle between Sly and Ty*

"You're gonna regret this!" Sly ran as fast as he could back to the robot. "He saved me…_why_?" he thought. Sly ducked into the shadows where a secret entrance to the robot lay. He jumped, tucked, and rolled to land. Once on his feet again he hit a yellow button to his left. The alarm sounded and yellow lights flashed everywhere inside. All the other henchmen were scrambling to get into their positions. Sly remained there motionless. "Why would he save me after I tried to kill him? Why would a mammal care about someone other than himself?" Sly ran back to the room where the Doomerangs were; he needed answers, answers that Cass couldn't give at the moment. He logged in to the computer at the base of the cylinder. He started reading up on them: what they were, how they worked…then he came across some other files; one was a video clip. "What's this?" He clicked on it. It was a video taken from the robot's camera of the battle when his family was sent into the Dreaming. Sly couldn't believe his eyes. He saw his parents, his sister, and other relatives…..fighting against Cass!

"Dad?...Mum?...Betty?..." he said in breathless surprise. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Now to restore the natural order once and for all…" said Cass on the video.

"…He…he lied to me" Sly said as everything became clear to him. "…HE LIED TO ME!" He turned away from the computer infuriated. "ALL THESE YEARS I'VE BEEN WORKING FOR HIM!" He turned back to the computer. "And he lied to me…about my family…about mammals…and why I'm here." Rage began seething inside him. "HE USED ME!" He slammed his fists down on the computer screen. He buried his head in his arms as he felt tears forming in his eyes from his anger.

He slowly looked up, revenge written all over his face as he watched his family being sucked into the Dreaming. "Alright Cass. You won't except failure? Fine. Then I won't fail to bring you down."

"Bring who down?" Fluffy sauntered into the doorway. "As long as it's that little orange rat, I don't care."

"The one that beat you?" Sly shot back in anger.

"Hey! He beat you, too, Sly! Pummeled you as I remember…" She looked at Sly, who was looking intently at the computer. "What's gotten into you? Haven't seen you look that mad since that Tiger gave you that tail-kicking."

"Did you know?"

"Know what?"

"About _this!_" Sly swung the monitor to face her and played her the video.

Fluffy watched part of the video. She chuckled a bit. "Of course I knew about that. Everyone did. We were all there, Sly." She looked closer at the monitor. "Hm…now that I think about it, I think that's the day Cass found you." She looked at Sly, who was livid. "What's it to you? They're just mammals. No concern of you-"

Sly had tackled her and held one of his Deadlyrangs up to her neck. "Those mammals are my family, Fluffy! Now tell me if you knew about this." Sly said sternly.

Fluffy was shocked at first, then began to give a smirk as she wrapped her thorny tail around Sly's ankle and threw him into the wall to his left. His back slammed into it before he landed on all fours.

He shook his head trying to regain composure when he noticed her standing up. She chuckled, "And what if I have known, Sly?" She began putting on electric gloves that surged blue electricity when they were on. "You'll never live to find out."

Sly gritted his teeth and he slowly pulled out his Deadlyrangs, "We'll see about that!"

Sly lept for her. She went to punch him, but he blocked with his rangs. She swung another punch; he jumped away. She spun around to hit him with her tail; he was knocked on his back. She went to double punch him; he held her fists inches away from his face with his rangs. He kicked her in the stomach. She cringed, then put her hands on either side of him, knocked off balance. He raised both his legs and kicked her to his right. Her back landed against the control panel, but one of her hands hit the computer and shocked her. "AHHHHH!" She screamed. Sly threw one of his rangs at the computer to shut it down; he didn't want her dead. He still needed answers. The computer powered down and Fluffly landed on the ground with a thud. The Doomerangs feel out of their container; the cylinder keeping them encased had been powered by the computer.

Fluffy lay there in agony, unable to really move anything, but she was still conscious…for now.

Sly got to his feet. He walked over to Fluffy and hovered over her. "Now I'll ask one more time. Did you know about this?"

Fluffy looked up at him, angry that he had beaten her, but realizing she was defeated. She inhaled deeply and quickly. "Yea…I knew," she said weekly.

"How long have you known?"

"…Since…ow…the third…ugh…day you were…here…"

"How did you find out?"

"…Cass did some DNA testing on those Doomerangs…ugh…He ran the fingerprints…found out who that male Tiger was who hurled it at him…before he got sucked into the Dreaming…"

"My dad…"

"Yea…he got the name and background…Found out he had three kids: a daughter…and two boys. You're name came up as one of the boys. When he saw that…he needed a blood sample from you."

"He told me he was checking for diseases…"

"Heh…guess he lied about that, too…Anyway, he ran your blood…Found it was a match; you were that Tiger's son…Once he found out, he planned to use you against them, case they somehow came back. He knew they wouldn't fight against you."

"I would've recognized them-"

"Cass has mind control devices; that wouldn't have helped."

He sighed. "He banished my family…"

"Left your brother alive, though."

Sly's ears perked up and he looked intently at Fluffy. "My brother?"

"Yea, some little orange rat named Ty. Looked a lot like our guy, too."

"He's not our guy."

"Whatever…anyway the cub was never found."

"Cub?"

"Yea…was just a tike when he looked at the profile."

"How'd you know?"

"I was there with him."

Sly tensed up. He noticed Fluffy was slightly smirking. "…You're hiding something."

"Now what would I be hiding, Sly? I told you everything you wanted to know."

"Not everything…not yet…" And with that he grabbed one of her wrists and held it over her hip, which was a weak spot for her with those gloves on. "Tell me what you know."

"You wouldn't…"

Not changing his demeanor, he let go of her wrists and let it fall on her hip. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! OK! OK!"

He grabbed her wrist again and lifted it off of her. She breathed heavily. "You were saying?" He said coldly.

"Ugh….Ty…that rat…from the profile…he's the…one trying to…stop Boss Cass…ungh…he's…ugh…your brother…"

Sly dropped his rangs and froze in shock. "…..what?"

"My mech…that I…ugh…used in the…mountains…it caught a pic of him. Did a retinal eye scan…to identify…found out it…was that rat from…that Tiger's profile…identical match..." Fluffy passed out after that.

"…..my brother…." He buried his head in his hands and wept bitterly. "How could I have done this to him?"

The intercom beeped; his ear perked up and he silenced himself. "We're moving out, boys!" said Cass. "And that little orange nuisance is coming along for the ride. RWAHAHAHAHA!"

Sly lowered his eyes in determination. He exhaled, "I promised him I'd always be there for him. Always. It's time I lived up to that promise." And with that he put the Doomerangs on his back, grabbed his Deadlyrangs, and ran out of the room.

*end flashback*

"Once I knew the truth, I knew I had to help you."

Ty could only imagine what his brother had gone through. He stared at Sly in breathless surprise, then hung his head, bewildered that Sly had gone through all of that.

"Wow…for twelve years…" was all Ty managed to say.

"Yea…" Sly replied.

Ty shook his head. Now he knew the whole story as to why Sly first tried to kill him, then helped save him and their family. But another question arose: what now?


End file.
